Building capacities in taxonomy and collection management
The Belgian National Focal Point (NFP) to the Global Taxonomy Initiative (GTI) aims to
in partner countries of the Belgian Development Cooperation
Building capacities in taxonomy and collection management
The Belgian National Focal Point (NFP) to the Global Taxonomy Initiative (GTI) aims to
in partner countries of the Belgian Development Cooperation
The Belgian GTI-NFP is housed at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences,
runs under the CEBioS – ‘Capacities for Biodiversity and Sustainable Development’ programme,
is funded by the Belgian Development Cooperation, and
supports the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity
Main activities
The capacity-development activities of the Belgian GTI Focal Point are centred around four pillars
To support scientists from developing countries in their research on specific taxonomic groups, two types of grants are awarded each year:
(1) Short-term Scholarships in Belgium;
(2) Grants for Belgian taxonomists carrying out Capacity Development Projects in the partner countries to train researchers on the ground.
In addition to funding internships and training courses that focus on specific taxonomic groups, we support the organisation of general workshops that aim to enhance the participant’s knowledge and/or skills in domains that are relevant across taxa.
We also provide grants for GTI Awareness-raising Projects of (former) scholarship holders, to give them the opportunity to inform the general public and interested stakeholders in their country about the importance of their research results for biodiversity conservation and sustainable local livelihoods.
Finally, we support publications resulting from the GTI activities, including papers in scientific journals and Policy Briefs. In addition, the Belgian GTI Focal Point facilitates the publication and distribution of the Abc Taxa series, which is dedicated to capacity building in taxonomy and collection management.
Latest news & updates
- 01.04.2022
The 2022 GTI call for Capacity Development projects is open.
Applications may be submitted until 22 May 2022.
- 28.03.2022
Open to researchers from Niger, Ivory Coast, Guinea and Gambia, and to researchers from partner countries of the Belgian Development Cooperation who received a GTI Scholarship Grant in 2020
- 20.07.2021
Training organised from November 1 until November 12, 2021 at the Sokoine Pest Management Centre, Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA), Tanzania. Opening and closing date of the applications: 07/07/21 till 15/08/21.
